My Beautiful Broken Shell (poem)

My Beautiful Broken Shell

 

 

Dawn has broken on a beautiful day here at the ocean.  I’ve come to refresh my weary spirit and to refuel my tired soul.  I’m so grateful for the peace and the calm of the seashore, where time stands still and unrushed…. Where I can see and feel the beauty all around me.

 

 

This is my first morning at the ocean, and as I walk to the beach, feeling the rich warm sand beneath my feet, I decide to collect a few shells. It is low tide and I watch mesmerized, as the ocean rises slowly… curls… and then spills its white-lace foam on to the shore. I walk by and see a broken scallop shell… and leave it to search for a more perfect one, But then I go back…. And pick up the broken shell.  I realize that this shell is me with a broken heart.

 

 

This shell is people who are hurting… people who have lost loved ones…people who are frightened or alone… people with unfulfilled dreams. This shell has had to fight so hard to keep from being totally crushed by the pounding surf…just as I had to.

 

Yet this shell is still out on the beautiful sandy shore …just as I am. Thank you lord that I haven’t been completely crushed by the heaviness in my heart… the pounding by the surf.

 

 

In our world with perfect shells we would miss some of life’s most important lessons along the way. We would never learn from adversity…from pain…from sorrow.

 

Thank you lord for all I have learned through my brokenness… for the courage it takes to live with my pain.

 

 

Broken shells teach us not to look at our imperfections but to look at our beauty… of what is still left. If anything is still left of me or my loved ones, then that is enough to grab hold of… to keep me going…to thank God for. Broken shells mean lots of tears… lots of pain… lots of struggle… but they are also valuable for teaching truth faith, courage, and strength.  Broken shells inspire others and demonstrate the will to go on in a way no perfect shell could ever do.

 

 

Broken shells are shells that have been tested… and tried… and hurt… yet they don’t quit. They continue to be.  Thank you Lord for the great strength it takes to simply be…even when I hurt so deeply that there seems to be nothing left of me.  As I walk along the beach picking up shells, I see that each one has it own special beauty… its own unique pattern.  Lord, help me to see my own beautiful pattern… and to remember that each line and each color on my shell was put there by you. Help me not to compare myself to others, so that I may appreciate my own uniqueness. Help me to truly accept myself just as I am, so that I sing a song in my heart… for no one else has my song to sing…My gift to give.

 

 

I watch the rolling surf toss new shells onto the shore, and I am reminded of the many times that I, too have been tossed by the storms of life and worn down by the sands of time, just like my beautiful broken shell.  But I am reminded that broken shells don’t stand alone. 

 

Thank you, Lord, for being with me to share my life… to help me carry my burdens.

 

Thank you for the precious gift of faith that keeps me strong when I am weak… that keeps me going when it is easier to quit. Thank you, Lord for the hope in times of despair… for the light in times of darkness… for the patience in times of suffering. For assuring me that with you all things are possible.

 

 

A wave crashes send tiny sand crabs scurrying for safety… and I am reminded that even the smallest creatures depend on each other.  Especially in our brokenness, we need the Lord… We need one another. Thank you, Lord, for filling my life with people who care.

 

Thank you for my family… for my friends… for those who are always there for me.

 

 

As I look at my beautiful broken shell I see it has nothing to hide. It doesn’t have to pretend to be perfect or whole its brokenness is for everyone to see.

 

Lord, may I be strong enough to show my pain and brokenness like the shell.  May I give myself permission to hurt… to cry… to be human.

 

May I have the courage to risk sharing my feelings with others so that I may receive support and encouragement alone the way. Lord, help me reach out to others…especially to the broken and discouraged… not only to love them but to learn from them as well. May I listen… comfort… and give unconditional love to all who pass my way. Lord, help me realize that I am not the only one hurting… that we all have pain in our lives.  Help me remember that in my brokenness I am still whole and complete in your site.

 

 

As I walk among the many washed up shells, I suddenly spot a broken conch shell… white and ordinary on the outside…yet brilliant coral inside.

 

Lord, help me see inside the hearts of the people who touch my life… and to see their true colors. In my brokenness may I never take life so seriously that I forget to laugh along the way. May I take time to watch a kite dance in the sky… to sing… to love… to take risks… to believe in dreams.

 

 

 

Let me not destroy the beauty of today by grieving over yesterday… or worrying about tomorrow. May I cherish and appreciate each shell in my collection and know each day… for I know not when tide will come to wash my treasures away…..

 

 

For now I’ll continue walking and add to my collections of beautiful shells………….

 

 

 

  

 

 

Thank you for posting your writing. It touched me very deeply. I'm going to print it and share it with others who I think will benefit from it, too. God bless you as you continue on your journey. Marie

Just lovely- Thank you for sharing it.

This is truly a beautiful poem. thanks for sharing.Love & hugs.